


Boys Don’t Cry

by funkyfood4



Series: Self discovery [1]
Category: Little Women (2019)
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Crying, Feminization, Friendship, Gen, Gender Roles, Men in Dresses, Platonic Relationships, Queer Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28446723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funkyfood4/pseuds/funkyfood4
Summary: “Oh that’s not fair! Why is he prettier than I am?”Or: Laurie is cast as a woman in Jo’s new play. The March sisters dress him up.
Relationships: Theodore Laurence/Josephine March
Series: Self discovery [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2083701
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	Boys Don’t Cry

Laurie isn’t exactly sure how he ended up in this position. He stands in Meg’s bedroom, clinging to the bedpost as both Beth and Meg pull at the strings of the corset that rests on his midsection. 

“Try holding all your air in your lungs, Laurie.” Meg manages to grunt out as the girls continue to pull. 

Laurie gasps as his waist is cinched inward.

He isn’t sure why he agreed to do this in the first place. One minute Amy was complimenting his features, the next he was being roped into playing the damsel in distress in Jo’s next play. 

Laurie grimaces as Meg gives the corset strings one final tug. “Are you sure about this? Won’t it be strange for me to play a woman?”

“Now don’t tear this corset. It’s the only spare I have.” Meg directs, pointing a finger at him sternly.

Jo saunters over, a half eaten apple in her hand. She eyes Laurie up and down. A blush creeps up his freckled cheeks as he just now realizes that he is in a room full of girls wearing nothing but a chemise, ladies’ drawers, and a corset. 

“We play men all the time. What’s the difference between that and you playing a woman?” Jo asks rather incredulously.

“I— a lot. I-it’s not the same thing.” Laurie manages to stutter out.

Jo quirks up an eyebrow before taking another bite out of her apple. 

“I-I just...I don’t see why I need to wear a dress and everything. Can’t I just wear my regular clothes?” And Laurie knows he’s whining, but at this point he’s beyond caring. 

Meg is carefully searching for her old violet dress in the wardrobe. Huffing with dissatisfaction when it takes her longer than she would like to finally find it.

“Well I’m going to be wearing a beard.” Jo interjects. 

“If we were rich, we could have you wear stockings, and a petticoat too.” Amy adds off-handedly, sighing haughtily at her supposedly dull and drab life. 

‘Does she not realize how lucky she is?’ Laurie thinks. ‘To have a family that is complete?’

Laurie furrows his brow. “Oh don’t do that, Teddy. You’ll spoil your pretty face.” Jo jeers, patting him on the cheek.

God why is he doing this? What’s wrong with him? Is it to make Jo happy? 

He is soon being helped into the dress by Meg. “Arms up.” Laurie does as he’s bid.  
Once the garment is over his head, Beth begins to button up the back for him. 

“Thank you, Beth.” Laurie murmurs. He can almost feel her blush. 

The March house can be a bit...overwhelming at times, so Beth’s shy yet calming presence is always welcomed with open arms by Laurie. 

Meg gives Laurie one last inspection, brushing a rogue curl off of his forehead. Her hand lingers on his cheek for a moment. Meg’s eyes search his face, a faint smile on her lips. There’s something oddly...maternal about the gesture. Warmth blooms in his chest. 

Amy looks up from where she’s sitting at the vanity. “Oh that’s not fair! Why is he prettier than I am?” She pouts. 

“Maybe that’s why he’s playing the damsel and you’re not.” Jo retorts, which earns her a quick slap on the arm from Amy. She would have hit back if it weren’t for Meg’s warning gaze. 

She leads Laurie over to the full-length mirror so that he can see himself. 

Laurie gasps. It doesn’t look at all how he had pictured it in his mind. He was expecting the dress to be frumpy and awkward on his lanky frame, but it wasn’t.  
Laurie’s hips appeared curvier thanks to the corset. His delicate collarbones jutted out over the neckline. The dress was perfect, as if it had been tailored for him specifically. 

Laurie looked feminine. Laurie looked beautiful. 

“This is just a dress rehearsal, but I think for the final performance I’ll add a bit of lip rouge.” Meg tells her sisters. “Would that be alright, Laurie?” She asks warmly.

He’s quiet for a moment, unable to take his eyes off his own reflection. “Uh...y-yes I think that would be fine.” He murmurs. 

There’s a soft knock at the door to the bedroom. “My girls, may I come in?” Marmee asks from the hallway. 

“Yes Marmee, come in!” Jo yells back. 

Laurie’s eyes go wide. What will Marmee think of him? Will she be offended put by his appearance? Before Laurie has any more time to overthink, Marmee opens the door. Hanna’s there too.

“Look at how pretty Meg made Laurie!”

“—don’t be ridiculous he was always pretty.” 

“Meg said that she would put lip rouge on him for the performance!”

“Marmee why can’t I look that pretty?”

“—oh wouldn’t he look absolutely gorgeous with makeup on?”

The chatter overlaps and seems to fill the entire room. It makes Laurie dizzy. So dizzy that he doesn’t even seem to notice that his eyes are beginning to well up.

But Jo does. “Why don’t you all go downstairs. I need to make a few final edits on the script and I need Laurie’s help.” 

Nobody else seems to see the tears in Laurie’s eyes as they reluctantly leave the room. 

Laurie sits down on the bed carefully. Heeding Meg’s orders about keeping the corset intact. He doesn’t lift his eyes from the floor, even when Jo joins him on the bed. 

“You hate it, don’t you?” Her tone is stolid. 

Laurie finally meets her gaze. A lone tear breaks past the barrier of his eyelashes and trails down his cheek. “What? No, I don’t hate it...I don’t hate it at all.”

“Then what is it?” Her voice undeniably Meg-ish in this moment. 

Laurie’s breath quivers as he attempts to contain himself. “Jo, I’m afraid that my motives for wearing the dress were entirely selfish.”

Now it’s Jo’s turn to furrow her brow. “What do you mean?”

“I think that I like it, Jo.” He sobs. Wrapping his arms around his own waist, folding in on himself pitifully. In this moment Laurie hates himself. He’s sick, he’s disgusting, he’s...deviant.

“Oh Teddy...” Jo pulls his shaking body into her own. Laurie’s fingers clench at her shirt as he buries his face in her shoulder. 

“What’s wrong with me?” He manages to choke out between silent sobs. 

“Nothing. There is nothing wrong with you.” Jo is firm in her resolve, holding him tighter as she speaks.

“What are people going to think when they see me in the play? Oh no, what will Grandfather think of me?” He peers up at her, sniffling. 

“They will think that you are playing a role, and if your grandfather says one word about it I suppose I will need to have a discussion with him.” 

Laurie giggles at that. The thought of Jo laying down the law, so to speak, for his grandfather. 

“And if this-“ Jo motions at the dress awkwardly. “Is beyond the play. I-I want you to feel comfortable exploring it here. No one would mind one bit. I’m not very good with dresses and makeup, but Meg and Beth could-.” She’s cut off by Laurie pulling her into a tight hug, knocking the air straight out of her lungs.

They pull away after a minute. Jo dabs at the corners of Laurie’s red-rimmed eyes with her sleeve. “We should probably go downstairs.”

He takes a moment to pull himself together, straighten out the wrinkles in the cotton of his dress, before looping his arm through Jo’s and allowing her to lead the way.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ‘Little Women’ fic. Thank you for reading!


End file.
